Relativism

There's good news and not so good news. The good news is that the root canal is over! Yay.

The not so good news is that my jaw is soooo sore. It's a good thing blogging is done by typing and not by talking because I won't be doing much of that today. Gah. I have a REALLY small mouth. (Just ask Tarzan!) Though it doesn't feel all that small to me the poor dentist couldn't even get his mirror into the back of my mouth without smacking my upper teeth. And of course the to-be-canaled tooth was the very last one on the left side. Everything that went in my mouth hit my upper teeth, the drill vibrated my upper jaw more than the lower. For about two hours it was all "stretch really wide now" and "big, big for me" and "don't close, keep your mouth open." Little did he know I had a cramp in my jaw and that was as wide as my jaw could go. At one point I had tears in my eyes from the stretching business. All for a nerve that's about the size of two human hairs. (Do you know how small that is? Yeah!) Cavities which seem so big in the x-rays are smaller than a drop of water. The 'files' they use are the size of Barbie toothpicks, and teeth, which seem so big when felt by the tongue are about the size of peas - smaller even.

The other good news is that the actual drilling did not hurt at all (The Gentle Dental Center is very good with the pain management) and my tooth does not hurt at all today. Just the right side of my jaw. Ooochie. Only two more appointments, one for the molding and one for the installation of the crown. That oughta be interesting. The last time I had a crown the dentist almost dislocated my jaw trying to get the mold in there. And that was for a tooth further up than this one is.

This is me glad when this is all over.

So sad

I have exactly zero (that's 000000) connections with the horse racing world (other than watching National Velvet and Seabiscuit) but I love all animals and when a horse gets hurt running I always hope that they get better. Perhaps because of the rest of the world was caring too I followed the story of Barbaro, the horse that won the Kentucky Derby and then broke his leg in the Preakness. Things seemed to be going well for a long time after the injury and it looked good that the horse would recover. It was a shocker to see the news item today that Barbaro had to be put down. Poor Barbaro.It reminds me of a high school History class discussion in which we talked about some war and the casualties. Some jock-type guy thought it was "stupid" the girls cared more about the number of horses that died than the men. Mr.Stone (one of my favorite teachers ever, precisely for discussions like this one) said something that was very profound: The humans had a choice about whether to participate in the war, the horses did not. Being innocent of the decision to wage war made them more sympathetic figures.
I've always appreciated that discussion and it reminds me of my stewardship to care for this earth, the animals and the plants on it.

This is animal-loving me.

Twisted all over (Weird#8)

Oooooo-kay....It started out with me going to church, except I went to the church building of my youth (in The Frozen North). I sat in the lobby with a bunch of little, white, paper cups, listening to a family (from this congregation) in an adjacent room; their kids came out and climbed in my lap and we walked to the gymnasium and there was a movie showing on the wall of a parade with a marching band (they were wearing navy blue so it was NOT the Trojan marching band) the drum major was walking backwards leading the band and behind him was a line of police officers keeping the crowd back until the drum major pulled a gun and started threatening the band. The police tried to grab him but he dropped the gun and ran away, so all the police followed him and the band disappeared and then I was walking in a large group of people from church including the family from earlier, the father was walking right next to me with one of his kids on his shoulders and we were talking and Tarzan came up to talk to us but I was tired of walking so I sat down to rest (we were following a dirt road through a large field of flowers) thinking I could catch up to everyone in a few minutes. When I started walking again they were far ahead of me but I hurried and followed them down the path and into a tunnel but then they all disappeared and I was trying to catch up and every tunnel we went in was smaller and narrower until I couldn't get out the end of the last one, so I started digging through the dirt. My legs, arms and head popped out the side of an airship that was flying low over a city with water running through it. (I want to think it was Seattle, but I can't say for sure) We landed on a concrete pad and I was running to see girl who was on a corner in downtown LA selling T-shirts, (which had a saying that I remembered when I woke up but I can't think of now) and she hugged me (I think I was a guy for this part though I had been me all along) and I remembered that this was just a TV show called "Witchcraft" and then I woke up...

Seriously, that psychologist had better have really good grades.

This is me kinda scared of my own dreams.

Options

Well THAT was interesting. I went to the dentist yesterday afternoon, dreading and yet prepared for my root canal. Turns out that the receptionist had written a date in her calendar different from the one she put on my reminder card. So they weren't scheduled to root canal me. Instead, they replaced my older fillings (which they had said they would do at a later date) with newer prettier ones and sent me home. 30 minutes. The anesthetic barely started working before I was out the door. AND they rescheduled my root canal for NEXT Tuesday so I get to think about it for another week. Yay.

I thank everyone for their suggestions regarding MC and my retaliatory options. (When suggestions were being tossed around for lunch today I threw out Daphne's and his reaction was "anywhere but that Greek place." Why, why, why, why, why?) The consensus seems to be to tell him off the next time he says anything...that and stop showering so he goes away. :D

This is me about to get stinky!

Irksome (Weird#7)

Not entirely sure how we got there, but Tarzan was playing the organ and I was leading the music in church. We sang the first verse but it wasn't the right song so we had to switch to another hymn. We sang the second verse but then we ran out of music so we sang a cappella and then people were sitting on folding chairs instead of pews and then we were in the gym instead of the chapel and then some of the kids were coming up to the stand and then we were singing the SEVENTH verse of some song and finally we got it right and were all back in our correct places except I didn't have a music stand for my hymnbook...

My subconscious is a mighty weird place!

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Short day for me today because I "get" to leave early for my root canal...oh goody. At least I won't have to come back to the office when it's all over. I'm kind of mad at the office right now. This guy (let's call him MC) was making fun of me all day yesterday. Not like "hey, four-eyes!" thankfully, but he made snide remarks when the HVAC guys redirected the vents so as not to blow down on my hands (because yes we have the A/C on in middle of winter - don't get me started on that!) And then someone wanted a "simplistic, repetitive task" done and he said that it sounded like a job I would be good at. And not in a nice way. He only works two days a week, why do his needs for new equipment and table space take precedence over mine, when I work all five days? I don't know! And now I will stop whining now before I make you all throw up. Tarzan thinks I should fight fire with fire, but I don't know if I should stoop to his level and insult him or just gaze longingly at my count down marker and wish for the days to go faster...

This is me irritated.

Days of the Week

Friday! Today is Friday! I love Fridays. Fridays are perhaps the best day of the week. The whole weekend is stretches out before me - the possibilities are endless. The office is calmer since nothing can be due before Monday, it's casual clothes day so the boss wears his track suit and leaves at lunchtime for the desert, I get to clean up a bit, file some stuff, ahhhh.
Saturdays are good, but by the time I sleep in a little (8am), take my sister to work, do the grocery shopping, the laundry and three loads of dishes, strip and remake the bed and prepare talks/lessons/songs etc. for Sunday and then pick my sister up from work there's not much left of the day. And Saturday evening leads right into...
Sundays where I wake up earlier (6am) than I have to for work (7am) go to meetings and then come back to pick up people for church and still be there in time to set up Primary by 9am. The afternoons could be calm but the threat of Monday hangs over my head so I feel the need to do something so as not to waste a single second and everything feels like it's wasting time. It's so stressful to choose something to do!
Mondays are just not nice. 'Nuff said
Tuesdays aren't much better because I can't even remember the last weekend anymore and the next one is so far away I can't even plan for it.
Wednesdays are better than Tuesdays, but it's still the middle of the week and the piles of paper around my desk are getting higher and higher.
Thursdays can be okay - depending on what is due that day or the next - Friday is right around the corner and the weekend is in sight.
And then it's lovely lovely Friday again. Ahhhh. I am so ready for the weekend.

This is me preparing.

Ups & Downs

As expected I guess, Life is full of the good, the bad and the ugly. Here's an abbreviated list:
GOOD:

• Flowers from Tarzan (see last post) He's so good for me and to me. I'm a lucky girl.
• Heard from Marcus and Lara (USC alumni) They want me to help them design their house. How awesome is that? Designing homes for individual families is the reason I got into architecture. I can't wait to get going on it!
• My best friend from college - Juliann the opera star! - just started her own blog and I'm totally excited to see her posts and keep track of her career. SHE and her hubby live far away from me too (all the cool people do!) so this will totally rock for keeping in touch!
• Got a new flat screen monitor (very schnazzy) at work AND a new laptop at home so I can play and post and design whenever I want! Optical mouse, new carrying case...yes I AM a nerd. :)

BAD:

• Saw the dentist yesterday and I have to have a root canal...I try so hard to floss and brush all the time - I wanted to get through life without a root canal. I had my wisdom teeth out. Twice. I'd hoped I'd appeased the teeth gods. Apparently not...Icky.
• My windshield wipers are dry on the car and while I can check the oil and change a tire by myself, I don't know where the windshield wiper fluid goes. :(
• The weather's been very dry lately and my hair is not amused. It seems the Bounce sheets don't work with the wind blowing either so my clothes are sticking to me and my hair is sticking out from my head.

UGLY:

• This young punk at a developer's office that I have to deal with. The dude is SO insincere and even though he's younger than me he talks down to me like I don't know what I am doing. All too often it's clear that he DEFINITELY doesn't understand what I'm doing for him OR what HE's supposed to be doing. Grr.

I guess it's not as bad as I was thinking. It's only the root canal that really sucks...Yet another reason to love the blog, it reminds me how truly blessed my life is!

This is me up-per than I was.

Lucky me

Yesterday: Just a normal Friday afternoon at the office when what should come to the door?

A delivery guy.

From the florist.

With a dozen roses.

For me.

From Tarzan.

Why you ask? I asked why. My colleagues asked why...was it our anniversary? No, that's November...Not my birthday...One guy asked what Tarzan had done. (Nice)

So I called Tarzan at work to say thank you and find out what the occasion was. He said it had been too long since he had a chance to send me flowers, and today seemed like a good day...

....................................................................................................

My lovely vase of roses:The family version of thank you (I swear we're prettier in real life):

This is me misty.

Dreams and music (Weird#6)

The youth of our church in this region were performing an "international" dance (I don't know what was so international about it as the flags we were carrying were all solid colors, but whatever) in large groups with flags on, not flag poles exactly, but more like long sticks. I was in charge of our group and we were doing very well, until we dropped our flags. The other groups - still in formation - walked over our flag and kicked our sticks all over the gym floor. As we gathered all our stuff up we realized that the flags had been folded rather complexly so that they would both wave and twirl and also stay connected to the adjacent one. As we sorted it all out a speaker came to talk to us all and as we listened two of the teenagers from our group decided they wanted to braid my hair, so they took my elastic out and started to comb it. When they got to the end of the braid they realized they only had one elastic and it was at the top of the ponytail...they debated what to do until I woke up this morning.

Where do I come up with this stuff?

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In other news, I have been deeply immersed in my new Josh Groban CD - Awake - and I love it. I have discovered that the artists I like best have an orchestra to back them up. Josh, of course, Kristin Chenoweth, Neil Diamond, Chicago, Reba McEntire, Frank, Dean, Anne Murray, even Yanni. Does that mean I have taste or that I can't pick an instrument so I choose them all...

This is me listening.

Nonsense (Weird#5)

I was dreaming that Tarzan and I were out with his family (they didn't look like anyone in his family, nuclear or extended) on a boat, a sailboat. At first we had lots of wind and the boat was big and there were only a few of us. As the wind died down, the boat seemed to get smaller and there were more people. We docked at an island that had a large restaurant and settled in the "back room" to eat. That's all I remember before I woke up...

Now what does that mean? I don't have issues with Tarzan's family. We get along rather well I think. They don't live close enough to drop in unannounced so it's not like I feel pressure from them or worry that they are intruding in our life... If anything I wish his family lived closER so that I could see them more, especially his siblings.

This is me wondering what's in my head.

Tarzan love

This cold is not as bad as some I have had, but my ears are popping constantly and it's really doing a number on my throat. Tarzan spent ALL day Saturday and most of Sunday mocking my raspy, cracking voice. He kept calling me his little turkey vulture with a broken wing (he was studying for a class, photographs of Africa or something)...I'm sure there was a term of endearment in there somewhere but I was too tired to look for it.
My voice did not improve after leading the Primary children and then the entire congregation in song at church. I really hope no one could hear me because I could hear me and I missed 95% of the notes, and at least half of the words. "L..d, I ....d fo...w thee..."

Happy news: For those that requested it I republished the entry from a few weeks ago (Picture This (#2)) with larger images. Not that I see why people need large pictures of me looking weird - the small ones are more than enough, but there you go, you crazy peeps you.

This is me mending.

Timing is not my thing

I think I'm allergic to work. How could I go through an entire holiday season, everyone around me sniffling and coughing their heads off (my parents, my sisters and brothers, Tarzan - who I sleep with, even my opthamologist), germs whizzing everywhere, two whole weeks with not even a hint of sickness and the day I have to back to work I get a sore throat?
In the two hour meeting I was in last night that sore throat blossomed into a lovely head cold. Yes. Thank you everyone who sneezed on me - now I am sick. Gah. All those pills and vitamins don't mean a thing if a germ has your name on it.

And I have three projects that need to go out this week and the clients are calling me with changes two hours before they want the final renderings. Don't they understand that being a genius takes time!?

Sorry, I am not in an agreeable mood right now. My head hurts and my nose hurts and my throat hurts and I want to go home to bed. Sniff. Sniff...Ah-choooo! Erg.

This is me sick.

Jungle Living - Part 3

I must have a sieve for a brain...that's all it can be. (Two posts today - I know! - don't faint.) I did not mention my encounters with live tapings of TV shows and therefore celebrities. What could I have been thinking? I'm sure I don't know. Okay so where was I? These must be before Dustin Hoffman, but after Cillian Murphy so we're at

• 9a. For my birthday (I'm a Libra too!) Tarzan said we had to go one place before we could go to where the actual present was. (He was full of surprises this year - sneaky little devil.) So Wednesday night we went to what turned out to be a taping of a TV show - Show Me The Money and the host was none other than William Shatner. This excited Tarzan far more than myself BUT it was really cool to see how the taping of shows happens and what goes on when a show goes to commercial. This was a prototype show and as predicted on the IMDB page it didn't go very far. (That comment was not mine) As payment for going to that taping however, we received two tickets to be in the audience the next night for...
• 9b. Dancing With The Stars! It was on a results show night (Week 6 - the week that no one got eliminated!) so we got to see all the performers, though not see all of them dance. It was really fun. Tom Bergeron is taller than I thought and it seems the judges bickering is all made up. (I know!) Again, it was really fun to see how a show goes together, especially a live show. Very exciting! Mario Lopez and Karina Smirnoff encored that night, Nick was back to dance an exhibition routine with his wife. Elena, Maxim, Edyta and Tony also did an exhibition dance. The musical guest that night was Lionel Ritchie - which was extremely cool.
• 9c. When we were leaving the studio we passed Tony, with his wife and little daughter and Elena on the sidewalk. Interesting and also a little weird to see them out of their sparkly shirts acting normal.

This is me with holes in my head.

2007 - Bring it on!

HAPPY NEW YEAR

everybody!

2007 - such potential. I almost don't want to start the year yet, so I can plan it out and do it right. Goodness knows there wasn't enough time what with Christmas and family and New Year parties and football (Fight On! USC) to participate in. However "time, tide and trolley wait for no man" (name the movie and get my undying awe) and here we are, Day 2 of the new year. People are talking about three weeks from now and next month and this summer and I feel 2007 slipping away from me already. (Of course that's not necessarily a bad thing - see my new ticker above.)

It was a good holiday, albeit short. Got to hang with Rocketgirl, Socialist Man and baby Sunshine. So sad they're back in Brazil already! (I do have to take back most of my rant against the post office as the package DID arrive - just 15 days after it was supposed to...) The Christmas program at church was awesome! Got so many compliments (which I found amusing as I didn't do anything really - it was all the talent of others) The violining was superb - one lady said it was like a little piece of heaven. Another asked when they were moving into the ward. Here are some loverly pictures of us having a good time together.

Also spent some quality time with M2, PIT and almost-baby "Squishy." (That'll be a nickname to live down poor kid.) They've gone back to England now. Boo. Got to get to work on my passport and whole lotta dough for flying this year! Spent some days out in The Desert with my family. (We aren't a picture-taking people, but now that I have a digital camera (from Tarzan) maybe I'll take more - and I can post them!)

New Year's Eve was quiet, it being a Sunday and all. Kind of funny - we were watching Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve Show, (He has made an amazing come back.) and the power goes out at 11:40pm. Gah! It came back on at 11:56 so we saw the ball drop in Times Square but panic ensued for those 16 minutes! And then yesterday the USC vs Michigan game was beautiful! The first half was a little tense, defense battling it out, but since USC is a second half team we triumphed in the end. 32-18. Lovely way to ring in the new year.

It was SOOOOOOO hard to get up this morning for work with Tarzan laying there all warm and snuggly. He doesn't have to go back to school until next Monday. So rather than do actual work here I am blogging - notice the snazzy updates! I wonder if the counter was a tad premature what with only 2 visitors a day...(Lest you think I am a slacker I do do work, it just take a few minutes to get into the groove in the mornings.) Well...this entry is long enough already, so rest assured I am ready to take on the new year and all the groovy stuff that it has in store! 2006 was not bad, busy but productive - this year can be even better!

This is me starting 2007.